casino

I woke up early in order to catch a ferry to get to Macau by around 10am.

What the trains look like at 8am 🙂

To get to the ferry terminal for boats going to Macau, I got off at Sheung Wan station and just walked up, through a mall, to get to Turbo Jet’s ticketing counter (Cotai Jet is here as well). The ticket to Macau cost HK$163 (Rs. 1150/$21/€15) and I was hoping to get a seat for the ferry leaving at 8:45am, but as my bad luck would have it, the one guy in front of me at the counter wanted god-knows-how-many tickets and was arguing about change with the man behind the counter! Grrh, don’t you just hate it when this happens to you while waiting in line?! I stood there frustrated as not only did the 8:45am ferry fill up, so did the 9am one as well! I got one for 9:15am and then I waited at the departures ‘lounge’.

The terminal was filled with tourists from mainland ChinaI knew it would be well past 10am by the time I reached MacauThis was the standard ‘class’ which was comfy enough and air-conditionedI bid farewell to Hong Kong — for now

I asked for a window seat (as usual)

I kept praying I would get to Macau and clear immigration in time so I could head to the airport to see SNSD arrive. But that wouldn’t be the case.

I only reached Macau at around 10:30am. I already knew by now that my chances of making it to the airport in time were slim.The casinos greet you as soon as you near the Macau ferry terminal

UNfortunately, it was raining (Taken on my phone)Fortunately, the rain was reduced to a slight drizzle a few minutes laterI took a bus and got down near the Singapore Post buildingI was on my way to the Geylang Serai hawker centre & fresh marketI wanted to check out the food stallsThis market was recently renovatedSo I didn’t really sense a “charm” to this place

I went upstairs to where the food stalls wereThey have a few other stores tooThis place is quite famous in Singapore — or at least it used to be in it’s original formI wondered what to eatThis ‘baryani’ stall seemed fairly popular as they were dishing out hot plates is quick successionAt $4 (Rs.160/$3/€2.4 ) a plate, the ‘bariyani’ was just about alright as far as taste went. Fairly similar to Hyderabadi biriyani in taste.

I shared my table with a local who began chatting with me after he asked me why I was taking photos of what I was going to eat. I told him about my website, and why I was taking many photos. He asked me whether I worked here, and I told him ‘no’. I gave him my brief life story and in the end, he complimented my English. He suggested I could try for a job in Singapore but all this while, my food was getting cold.

Sucks. The only reason I ordered the biriyani was because it looked piping hot as they served it. Most of the food served at these kind of stalls restaurants are rarely ever hot. They’re usually pre-cooked and served out of buffet trays as per order.

The local sat with me long after he finished his meal as he continued to make conversation with me. The only thing I asked him was “what other good hawker centres are there?” He told me a few, and I noted them down. I gave him the link to my website and we parted ways.

Post lunch, I headed straight to Funan IT mall to pick up my 70-200mm lens from John 3:16.

Fortunately my lens was fixed and I tested it by taking a few shots

They told me the Canon service center had to drill two holes on the filter and break the filter carefully so as not to touch the main lens glass. The lens was checked thoroughly and re-calibrated. Sadly, I had now lost my rather pricey HD filter, to which they said it’s not even required that I use those expensive filters, as even a standard UV filters would suffice. All said and done, the damage wasn’t over. The cost of all this repair: $130 (Rs. 5100!). I had no choice but to pay up. I was just glad to see my most expensive lens back in my bag in perfect working condition.

But when you’re unemployed and trying be very careful with your spending, losing $130 plus the $50 I spent day before yesterday at the clinic simply felt like unnecessary waste of money. Sigh…

I prefer shopping at Funan IT mall over Sim Lim Square

The shops here are good and slightly more trustworthyLeft Funan IT mall. This is the Central Fire Station bang opposite.MICA building

That’s the Singapore parliamentI walked to City Hall MRT and headed towards Marina BayMarina Bay was still buzzing with construction activity

Panorama comprised of 7 shots

Decided to see what was in hereInside were interactive displays showcasing Singapore’s development historySpecifically Marina BayMarina Bay was mostly developed by dredging and land reclamationThe Land Acquisition Act was passed in 1966The Merlion Statue at the mouth of Singapore River was installed in 1972It was in 1971, with the help of the UN, that the first major infrastructure plan of Singapore was laid outThey made some changes to the masterplan for Marina Bay in the early 1980sIt wasn’t until the mid 1990s that Singapore even thought about implementing a Common Service Tunnel, which would house piping and essential utilities. At least they did it. How many cities in Asia have such massive underground infrastructure?In 2003, another draw-up of Marina BayIf I had the time, I would have just sat there and read through it allI was really keen on learning about all this

This bunny is an art exhibit. He’s been spotted around Singapore.Had to crop this tight for a closer lookAudi had this impressive boat, but it was for invited guests onlySinga, the mascot for Singapore’s Happiness Movement. (Seriously).

They have placed these mist coolers to make the walk here more comfortableBut Singapore’s humidity being what it is, the mist had little cooling effectOne final panorama before going in

There was an exhibition of Salvador Dali’s work going onThis was the mallWhen I came here last year the mall was rather empty as Marina Bay Sands had just opened

The Shoppes has slowly started to fill upMarina Bay Sands Singapore is after all by same people behind The Venetian in Las Vegas

Enough of the mall. Time for the first thing on my to-do list – the casino!

I walked to towards the entrance, past the security and straight to the baggage counter. Last year when I came to Marina Bay Sands, I couldn’t enter the casino because I got wet in the rain and I was wearing shorts. There was a dress code and the casino was only open to foreign tourists. This time around, I came dressed in formal wear and now Singaporeans could enter — after paying a $100 entry fee (which is ridiculous!).

No bags are allowed, and more strictly – no photography… at all… not even using your mobile. Which sucked, because you should have seen how the casino looked! Man, the chandelier inside was huuuge! Hundreds of slot machines, and other games with each one with scores of people playing.

I had never been to a casino before this, and had only seen them in Hollywood movies, so this was quite a revelation for me. I came with the intention of gambling a little bit, because hey, I didn’t have a job — so I thought I’d try my luck at winning some money! I even set aside a $100 just for this, but obviously I wasn’t going plonk it all down in one easy shot. Since I had never gambled before, I didn’t even know how to play most of the games. Slots was easy, pull a lever and hope you get match. Or at least that’s what I thought, because now, slot machines have gone digital — and they had way more buttons than a single lever.

You can play for as little as $1 and that made it easy for everyone to get in and begin. I converted $30 into chips/tokens and started with the Wheel of Fortune. Waged $10, placed my bets on a ‘x 10’ multiplier and a number. The lady spun the wheel and the needle stopped… at a number three stops after mine. Damn, there goes my first $10. The lady smiled and asked if I would want to try again. I thought, “Yeah, why not?” and put down another $10. She spun the wheel again, it stopped and she smiled again. I walked away after losing another $10. Sigh.

I then moved on to the slot machines and sat down at Queen slot machine. I played for $10, and ended up winning $17! I could have played for more but I decided to cash in my winnings and printed the receipt. Besides cards and tokens, the machines can use the same receipts to begin play. I had $17 with me and I started to wonder if my luck was improving. I walked past the roulette table and asked the attendant how the game worked. After he told how the game worked, I had to go and buy some more tokens as I obviously couldn’t place a receipt print on the table. So I got chips for $30 more.

I placed $10 as that was the minimum bet for this table (there were tables with $20 and $30 minimum bets too, larger payouts obviously). He spun the wheel in one direction and then the ball in the opposite direction. As the ball slowly lost momentum, it did the bounce – just as in the movies. But in my present real world scenario, it finally dropped into a number I didn’t select. So I tried again, and believe it or not, the ball stopped at a number just one spot away from mine.

So another $20 lost. So much for my hopes of being on a winning streak. I just played the slots after that. I won, wagered my winnings and then lost it all. At the end of it all, I had spent $60 and not really won anything big. I decided to stop.

I had no regrets though. It was an experience I smiled through. Looking around, it’s amazing how many people (most of whom were Chinese tourists) were spending so much money and I could only imagine how much money the casino was making — daily! You would think playing for as little as $1 is simple, harmless fun. But as I experienced it myself, human greed is what makes gambling harmful. And it’s as though the casinos have figured how a gambler’s mind works. There is a science to gambling and it’s a good bet to assume, very few ever make it out of a casino with more than what they spent in the hopes of winning big. It’s fair to see why gambling, to this day, remains controversial and banned in many places. Just because I stopped after losing $60, doesn’t mean others will. I even saw labourers from the sub-continent playing, and imagine how much they make in a month here in Singapore.

That said, there were the high rollers too. Some Korean guy came to the roulette table I was playing at and just dumped chips worth $1000. $1000, just like that! And to think above the two floors I could walk around on, were private rooms meant for even bigger players. Now think of the kind of money they’re playing for!

In the end, this place was not for a middle-class guy who spent the last eight years working and trying to save up as much as possible. I left the casino and collected my camera bag from the counter.

If you’re a foreign passport holder in Singapore, I still recommend visiting the casino at the Marina Bay Sands, the place is really well done up. The chandelier alone is worth seeing, it’s one of the world’s largest and it really is impressive.

I made my way to the hotel towers

This is the lobby of Tower 3I walked towards Tower 1Took a left and went downstairs to the ticket counter of the Sands SkyPark

When I came here last year, I made it all the way to the ticket counter, but only told be told that the SkyPark was closed due to rains that day. It rained earlier today as well, but fortunately the observation deck was open! I bought my ticket, which cost SG$20 (Rs. 800/$15/€12).

Here we go…The views from up here, are needless to say, awesome!The first thing you see is this – the Gardens by the Bay project (still under construction)This Flower Dome will house plants and trees and re-create a Mediterranean climateThis is the Supertree Grove, another attraction part of the Gardens by the Bay

This is how many ships are anchored outside Singapore Port…… and some more. It goes all the way like this until the port.The Marina BarrageIt controls the flow of water in and out of the reservoirThat’s the Bay East gardensI guess that’s where East Coast beach is

The Zone 3 grandstand of the Singapore F1 circuit

I don’t think I’ll ever tire of this skylinePanorama comprised of 3 shots

The Fullerton Hotel & One Fullerton entertainment complexThe Merlion ParkThe Arts Science museum is one on the rightThe Louis Vuitton ‘floating’ storeI was disappointed to know the Avalon Club was down there since I had initially read it was up on the SkyParkBut I was really happy I got my 70-200mm lens backThe Shoppes down belowYou can tell the new from the old — by the use of glass mainly

Concrete jungle or what!The lawn in the back is the Padang stage, where the big concerts this F1 weekend were going to happenThe Esplanade theatres glow at night — imagine the sight from up here!Singapore river, passing through Boat and Clarke QuayThat’s Singapore port, in the backOne of the busiest ports in the worldOkay, now time to check out the coolest attraction at the Marina Bay Sands HotelThe infinity swimming pool!Quite possibly the most famous infinity pool in the worldThe swimming pool is accessible to hotel guests only. Damn, so there goes my plan to just sit by the pool and have a drink.How cool is this view!Sigh, one day. One day I will definitely stay at this hotel.And to those who think: “Oh my god, it looks so scary!”Don’t be, it’s just an illusion. There’s no way you are going to fall over. I mean, you could try…

Access is for hotel staff onlyWent back up to take one final look around

I had plans to even go on the Singapore FlyerA ride on this costs $29.50But look at the height difference!

I don’t mind checking out the Singapore Flyer now… but I decided to keep it for next time. If you had to choose between the two, I’d recommend the Sands SkyPark over the Flyer any day.

Evening traffic was starting to pile up, that too with the diversions due to F1 workTraffic, even at sea 🙂Wonder which hill that is in the backgroundTook the last few shots, just to make sure I got every view possibleWonder what they’re constructing over thereIt was 6pm, time for me to leaveOne final panoramaGot a picture of myself taken… (yeah, Mithun in formals, save it)… and I left the SkyParkMithun has left the buildingI tried to fix the distortion in this panorama as much as possiblePlanned to walk on the Helix Bridge nextThe Helix Bridge is closed during F1 weekend as it’s one of the entry points to the circuitStill, people were walking on it, so I figured I could check it out until a certain pointThe Helix Bridge lights up, and looks even more impressive at nightPedestrians couldn’t go beyond a few metres from here as there was a private event taking placeSo I walked back

You can take the river cruise from here too

The design of the ArtsScience museum is inspired from a lotus flowerThe signature melting clock artwork of Salvador DaliThere’s an entry ticket here too

Went back into the mall for some air-conditioning (Panorama comprised of 5 shots)

I guess there’s still more leasable space left‘The Lion King’ was in townWhat was that?Clever designPretty cool none the less

Again, I keep photographing this skyline

Felt like stepping in, just to see what the store looked like from the inside. Not like I could afford anything in there anyway.

Panorama comprised of 6 shotsAvalon ClubSunday night – The Chemical Brothers, it’s going to be one heck of a Sunday for me!Hippo River Cruise is another boat tour companyPanorama comprised of 5 shotsPretty impressive sail boatI guess a lot of wedding shoots happen at Marina BayInstead of taking the MRT, I decided to walk around the bay area a bit moreI guess this connects you straight to the MRT stationA lot of choice for the bankers in the area to hang out after work

I walked to Raffles Place MRT and boarded the train from there. Got down at Bugis, simply because I felt like walking through the area I first saw when I visited Singapore last year.

Did a bit of mall hoppingWalked through the Bugis Street Shopping market, where they had recently opened an upper levelAfter doing a bit of shopping at Bugis Street, I walked around the adjoining Chinese market

I somehow just enjoy walking and soaking up the local life, even if it isn’t always buzzingThe junction at Raffles HospitalI walked to Kampong Glam (the ‘Arab area’), which is where I stayed last yearDeer meat. As weird as it sounds… I felt the temptation to try it.The Grand Sultan Mosque

I decided to walk to Victoria MRT

Spotted a Wendy’s across the road, knew right away what I wanted for dinner.

Had a shrimp burger meal from Wendy’s, one of my favourites from the chain. Also picked up some donuts from a local bakery in the same block and then took the MRT back to Aljunied.

Today was a good day. I was really happy with the photographs I clicked, though I do wish I got a bit of sunshine, which seems to be something of a rarity in Singapore.